(MENAFN) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly promised to hand over informants protected by the US government to El Salvador in exchange for access to one of the country’s most infamous prisons.

According to reports, Rubio made the offer during a March 13 phone call with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele as part of an arrangement allowing the Trump administration to utilize El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) for deported migrants.

Officials cited in the report said Bukele requested the return of nine imprisoned MS-13 leaders, including several informants under US protection, in order to approve the deal. Rubio allegedly assured Bukele that Attorney General Pam Bondi would end Justice Department protection agreements for those informants so they could be sent back.

Sources told the report that the proposal risked undermining years of investigative work by US law enforcement that depended on the cooperation of gang members.

“The deal is a deep betrayal of US law enforcement, whose agents risked their lives to apprehend the gang members,” Douglas Farah, a US contractor involved in federal investigations of the gang, was quoted as saying.

A State Department deputy spokesperson defended Rubio’s actions, stating that his diplomatic efforts helped deport hundreds of gang members and enhanced safety for Americans. According to reports, the Salvadoran government did not respond to requests for comment.

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